UNIONDALE, N.Y. – The East Stroudsburg University baseball dropped their final non-conference game of the regular season to No. 22 Molly, 5-2, on Tuesday afternoon at the Mitchel Field Athletic Complex.
Heading into their final three-game series, the Warriors sit at 32-14 overall while the nationally-ranked Lions move to 32-11 on the season.
Despite out hitting Molloy 13-9, ESU scored just two runs on an RBI double and sacrifice fly from freshman Jack Rothenhausler, who finished the day 1-for-3.
Out of the leadoff spot, Ben Piripavel led the Warriors by going 3-for-4 with a run scored while Brainy Rojas, Brock Kauffman, CJ Pecchatka and Jeremy Piatkiewicz each had two hits.
Alec Snyder (1-1) was handed the loss after pithing 3.0 innings, allowing four runs on five hits. The Warriors bullpen limited Molloy to one run the rest of the way as JP Nolan (4.0) and Mike Yates (1.0) combined to throw 5.0 innings, scattering four hits.
Notables
- Rojas remained at 152 runs scored in his career, which ranks fourth all-time in program history and still sits second for stolen bases after swiping his 76th
- Piripavel pushed his team-high on-base streak to 23 games after reaching with three base hits
- Peechatka continues to swing a hot bat as he stretched his team-best hitting streak to 12 games with a single and a double
- The Warriors stole one base on the afternoon to push their season total 121, ranking second in the PSAC and sixth in all of NCAA Division II
How it Happened
Molloy took the game's first lead in the bottom of the second inning as the Lions had their first two hitters reach before Chris Einemann singled through the left side to make the score 1-0.
The Lions would stretch their advantage to 4-0 in the home half of the fourth inning using four hits, which included a two-run base hit from Patrick Hoffman.
ESU cut their deficit to 4-1 in the top of the sixth inning when Rothenhausler delivered a two-out double down the left field line to plate Peechatka.
The Warriors continued to chip away in the top of the eighth inning, scoring a run to get within two at 4-2. With one out and the bases loaded, Rothenhausler hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Piripavel, who singled to lead off the frame.
However, the Lions took advantage of an ESU error in the bottom half of the inning to go back ahead by three runs at 5-2 as Einemann came around to score on a fielder's choice.
Up Next
The Warriors are back at Creekview Park for the final time this season on Friday when they welcome Shepherd at 2 p.m. for a crucial series in order to clinch a spot in next week's PSAC Tournament.
